


To See You Smile

by icandrawamoth



Series: February Ficlet Challenge 2018 [14]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: 'Romance Day' strikes again, First Dates, I'm Bad At Titles, M/M, Minor Wedge Antilles/Luke Skywalker, Valentine's Day, like blink-and-you'll-miss-it mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 08:03:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13700316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icandrawamoth/pseuds/icandrawamoth
Summary: Tycho is passionate and handsome and a little broken – Hobbie thinks he might like to be the one to make him smile.





	To See You Smile

**Author's Note:**

> For February Ficlet Challenge prompt "Valentine's Day."

Romance Day has taken the ship by storm. All of the pilots are even more touchy-feely than usual, no one wanting to be alone on the day of the galaxy-wide celebration of love. Someone (names will not be named) has cut out what seems like an infinite number of flimsiplast hearts and pasted them up wherever there's free space. For the most part, the higher levels of command are just bemused. There's a war happening, but they understand that their soldiers need these times to relax, too. As long as the celebrations don't interfere with their duties, their leaders leave them to it.

As the day itself approaches, Hobbie watches Tycho Celchu like he's watched him since Dantooine. The man has been alternately angry and downcast since his defection, but he's even quieter than usual now. He's missing someone, Hobbie thinks. A boy or girl he left on his home planet or someone he had to break ties with when he left the Empire.

Or perhaps someone lost in a more permanent way. Hobbie doesn't know Tycho's whole story, but every member of the squadron has losses behind them. Luke's aunt and uncle. Wedge's girlfriend. At least those two have found each other now.

Hobbie has entertained the idea of what being that person for Tycho might be like. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't. Tycho is passionate and handsome and a little broken – Hobbie thinks he might like to be the one to make him smile.

At any rate, he doesn't want to see him alone for the holiday. When it finally rolls around, the ship seems strangely empty, all the couples, whether long-term or temporary, nestled up together in some nook or cranny. Hobbie thinks at first that maybe Tycho has found someone after all – but no, he finds him sitting stiffly in a chair in the pilots' rec room with an actual book of all things.

“That your date?” Hobbie asks lightly as he joins him.

Tycho barely glances up. “I guess.”

“I'm surprised nobody asked you to spend the day with them. Nice, good-looking guy like you...” Hobbie winces, hoping the words don't sound quite as awkward as they feel.

Tycho raises an eyebrow. “I never said no one asked.” He turns a page. “Hard to believe you and Wes aren't out somewhere wooing a couple of ladies together.”

Hobbie makes a face. “I don't just like ladies, you know.”

“Oh.” Tycho pauses, turns another page.

 _Oh._ What is that supposed to mean? Hobbie chews his lip, presses on. “It's kind of sad, you know. Just you and whatever you're reading alone in here.”

“You're here, too,” Tycho says cryptically. His eyes still haven't left the book, and it makes him frustratingly hard to read.

“True. Maybe, I dunno, we could get out of here and do something more fun. Just the two of us. Get something to eat or-”

Tycho does look up at that, blue eyes intense yet still somehow unreadable. “The two of us?” he repeats.

“Sure...” Hobbie feels some of the wind go out of him. Is that a no? “If you're interested.”

Tycho blinks. “I'm not sure I...”

“Come on,” Hobbie says with a forced sort of brightness. He holds out a hand. “I'm not asking you to marry me, Tycho.”

It's the wrong thing to say. The blond's face goes shuttered as he turns back to his book. Hobbie bites his lip, not sure what's just happened. Obviously he's hit a sore spot of some kind, but he doesn't understand what it is.

“I'm sorry,” he mutters, a hand scrubbing awkwardly through his hair. He makes himself stand and walk toward the door. “I'll just leave you-”

“Hobbie, wait.”

He turns back, sees Tycho looking at him with a sort of torn expression.

“It's just...” Tycho's fingers toy with the edge of his book. Is he nervous? “I lost someone, just before I came here. I'm not sure I'm ready for anything serious yet.”

“I never said it had to be serious,” Hobbie tells him, hoping it's not crossing the line, pressing him too much. “It could be whatever you're comfortable with.”

He watches as Tycho watches him, blue eyes deep and thoughtful. Tycho lets out a breath finally and his expression relaxes a little. “You know, that actually does sound kind of nice.”

Hobbie feels a smile sliding onto his own face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Tycho tucks his book under his arm and approaches, hesitating for only a moment before touching a hand to Hobbie's shoulder. “So...what are we going to do?”

“Lunch first?” Hobbie proposes. “Then maybe back to my quarters for a holodrama? I've been told my collection is impressive and wide-reaching.”

Tycho nods silent assent. And smiles.


End file.
